NIGERIA’S first lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan said on Sunday in Annapolis, Maryland in the United States that her dream of bringing people-oriented projects closer to families and communities in Nigeria lacks adequate funds.
Mrs. Jonathan spoke at the occasion of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization summit, UNESCO, where she received an award for service from the organization. The theme of the summit was “First Ladies Infusion Summit” Uniting Generations Together as One.”
“My office as the first lady has no official budget allocation. Hence we have to solicit donors from private, public and donor organizations,” said the first lady in her remarks, adding that another challenge that she faced in impacting the lives of the people was capacity building, especially with youths and women.
First Lady Jonathan also used the occasion of the event to encourage the Nigerian youth in the Diaspora to invest their assets in acquired knowledge to develop their homeland.
Receiving the award of service from the UNESCO body, the Mrs. Jonathan thanked the body and assured that the award will further encourage her to strive more to add value to the lives of the youth and women.
The goal of the summit is to bring together African First Ladies to meet the next generation of African Leaders from ages 16-25. The first ladies of Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon, South Africa, Senegal and Ethiopia were invited for the two-day summit.
The wife of the Governor of the US State of Maryland, Katie O’ Malley, in a pre-recorded visual message, welcomed guests to the state and assured them of her support in all their projects and activities while in Maryland.
Ms. Annie Nganfack, the UNESCO coordinator of the event spoke on the need to encourage young people to positively alter the course of their future.
“If we are going to impact future cultures, we need young people who have a vision for what can happen when they enter their destinies with a motive to solve problems, said Ms. Nganfank, saying that “If leadership means influence, then definitely young people are leaders.”
Present at the event also was Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States, Dr. Ade Adefuye, who commended the UNESCO officials for inviting the first lady of Nigeria to the historic event, both as a mother and as someone who has consistently provided selfless service to the youths, women and the disadvantaged through her various non-government organizations.
“The passion I have seen amongst the African youth, since the commencement of this summit, confirms my belief that the future of Africa is secured. There is no doubt that Africa is the continent of the future,” said Ambassador Adefuye.
The UNESCO Infusion Summit is aimed at building bridges and sustainability of generational knowledge transfer. Youths from African countries living in the Diaspora were present to speak on their achievements in education, health, business, fashion and advocacy.
Lending her voice in support of support for African youths in the Diaspora, a co-sponsor of the UNESCO event, Chief (Mrs) Aisha Audu-Emeje, the former first lady of Kogi State and current Special Adviser on Investment & International Relations to the government of Kogi State, stated that “The economic challenges facing African youth warrant responsible leadership by governments and international partners. As leaders, youth can themselves play an important role in the promotion of African economy.”
It was the consensus of most of the participants and guests that Africa has a great future ahead.
Speaking in the same vein, Captain William Byrd, an American who has an NGO that supports youth and children in Kaduna, Nigeria, expressed the opinion that African women and youths need skilled assets to achieve, and that youths are a vital part of the future. Capt. Byrd, who is also an agro-business consultant, advised the governments of African countries to build industries and manufacturing plants to enable the youth put their expertise into good use.\